The International Student and Study Abroad Services hosted their annual “Diverse-Tea,” an event to showcase teas from around the world.

The event took place Thursday, March 1, and gave anyone who stopped by the Mandan Room in the Memorial Union a chance to taste the exotic brews.

Carly Gunnerson, one of the event coordinators and an international student advisor, said tea is “probably the most popular beverage in the world.”

The tea showcased to the public was from all around the world, including Africa, India and China, according to Gunnerson.

Gunnerson said by displaying international teas to the public, the event could show that “all tea comes from the same plant, and yet there are so many variations of it, and we can use that kind of analogy when we think about culture and diversity.”

“All of us have just different experiences that make us the unique person we are, which makes a unique tea,” Gunnerson explained.

This was the “third and final event of the International Week,” according to Gunnerson. “We had the Parade of Nations on Monday, and then yesterday we had the ‘Day in the Life’ panel where international students and a study abroad student talked about their experiences living abroad, the differences between their home country and their host country and culture.

Gunnerson said there have also been various things happening in the International Student and Study Abroad services office throughout the week.

“There’s been a different tea featured each day,” Gunnerson explained. “You can get your name written in Hindu or Urdu, or even Korean if you wanted; there’s been henna demonstrations.”

Cameron Sorrell, a student at North Dakota State who stopped by for these events said, “The fact that you can actually just come in here and try some tea from a different country just solidifies it more in my mind that, yeah, there are vastly different cultures out there that value tea a lot more than I do.”

“I think it’s a really good way to get people interested in international things, international students, the fact that we have people from different countries here at NDSU,” Sorrell said.

Sorrell said the event sparks this interest because “It’s a tangible thing you can put in someone’s hand. People are interested in eating things, drinking things.”

The tea according to Sorrell has the same effect as food. “It’s a really good way to get to people’s hearts and mind.”